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Library of Congress. 



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Chap. 
Shelf. 






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i y>^UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, c-il 

S3'*t2 9—167 e-daS 



/: .1 




Printed for Private Circulation. 



JOEL PARKER: 



" The War Governor of New Jersey." 



A Biographical Sketch. 



/ 

By JAMES S. YARD. 



FREEHOLD, N. J. : 

PRINTED AT THE MONMOUTH DEMOCRAT OFFICE 
1SM!». 






51253 




J 



JOEL PARKER. 

A MEMORIAL PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF THE NEW 
JERSEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



By James S. Yard. 



Read at the ineetiiKj of the Societ)/ at Neicark, Ma;/ i7, 1888. 



BIRTH, PARENTAGE AND EDUCATION. 

Joel Parker was born in Freehold township on the 24th 
of iSTovember, 1816, in a house still standing on the Mount 
Holly road about four miles west of Freehold, in what is 
now Millstone township. A small village known as 
Smithburg has grown up around it recently. His father 
w^as Charles Parker, who was born in the same neighbor- 
hood, and who was Sheriif of the county, member of the 
Assembly, and for thirteen years State Treasurer aiul at 
the same time State Librarian. His mother, who was 
also a native of the county as it was then constituted, was 
a daughter of Capt. Joseph Coward, of the Continental 
Army. He received his primary education at the old 
Trenton Academy, and was prepared for college at the 
Lawrenceville High School. In the meantime he spent 
two years as manager on a farm which his father then 
owned near Colts jSTeck. He was graduated at Princeton 
in 1839, and immediately commenced the study of law in 
the office of the Hon. Henry W. Green, at Trenton, and 
was admitted to the Bar in 1842, when he located at Free- 
hold and commenced the practice of his profession. 

HIS EARLY CAREER. 

In 1840 he cast his first Presidential vote for Martin 
Van Buren, the nominee of the Democratic party. In 



6 MEMORIAL OF 

1844 he entered the political arena in support of the elec- 
tion of James K. Polk as President, and distinguished 
himself in that campaign as a public speaker. In 1847 
he Avas elected to the Assembly and served one year. He 
was then the youngest member of the House, but being 
the only lawyer on the Democratic side, he became the 
party leader, especially on all questions having a legal 
bearing. He distinguished himself in the Legislature 
and gained a State reputation by the introduction of a 
bill to equalize taxation by taxing personal as well as 
real property, and by a speech in support of the measure, 
which was printed in the newspapers throughout the 
State. At the close of his term in the Assembly he de- 
clined a nomination as candidate for the State Senate on 
account of his growing practice, which demanded his 
entire attention. In 1852 he was appointed Prosecutor 
of the Pleas, Avhich office he held for one term, and ac- 
quitted himself therein with marked ability. During 
his term he tried the celebrated case against James P. 
Donnelly for the murder of Albert Moses, at the Sep- 
tember term of 1857. He was assisted by Attorney-Gen- 
eral William L. Dayton ; the opposing counsel were 
Joseph P. Bradley (afterward Associate Justice of the IJ. 
S. Supreme Court), ex-Gov. Pennington and A. C. 
McLean. The trial lasted nine days. The evidence was 
largely circumstantial, and the case is still quoted as one 
of the great trials of the period. The case was prepared 
and conducted by Mr. Parker, and won for him a leading 
position at the Bar of the State. 

EFFORTS TO ORGANIZE THE MILITIA AND TO PROMOTE 
VOLUNTEERING. 

At a meeting of the regimental officers of the Mon- 
mouth and Ocean Brigade, held at Freehold on the 1st of 
December, 1857, he was unanimously elected Brigadier- 
General of the Brigade. He subsequently proceeded to 



JOEL PARKER. 7 

thoroughly organize the corps, holding elections in the 
several regiments, appointing meetings for the instruction 
of the officers, and organizing uniformed companies, 
which he subsequently brought together for parade and 
review.* At the outbreak of the war Major-General 
Moore, of Ocean county. Commander of the Third Divi- 
sion of the State Militia, resigned on account of age and 
infirmity, and on the 7th of May, 1861, General Parker 
was nominated by Governor Olden and confirmed by the 
Senate as his successor. The appointment was made 
with a view to the promotion of volunteering and the 
organization of forces for the suppression of the Rebel- 
lion, He encouraged the military spirit of the people 
within the bounds of his Division, comprising the coun- 
ties of Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean, by 
holding public meetings, organizing the uniformed com- 
panies and bringing the latter together for inspection and 
review at Freehold, on which occasion he had 1,500 men 
in line, the largest parade of the kind ever held previous 
to that time in that section of the State. f Referring to 
these efforts to promote volunteering, the lion. Thomas 
H. Dudley, of Camden, said : J "The confidence re- 
posed in him by Governor Olden at that time was not 
misplaced. It was fully sustained in evei-y way. Joel 
Parker was true ; he Avas honest and loyal. He under- 
took the work and he did it. He rallied as many, if not 
more, men than an}' other man in the State around the 
standard for the defence of his country. * * He was 
patriotic and gave his hands and his heart to the work. 
He did his duty and he did it well, and the people sus- 
tained him. * * When he came to occupy the Exec- 
utive Chair he followed in the same patriotic line. He 
was true and loyal to the State and the country, and the 
oath of offije he had taken." 



*MimmoiUh Democrat, August 19, September 2, October 14 aud October 30, 1858. 
t Ibid. May 29, 1862. t Address before the Bar of Camdeu. 



8 MEMORIAL OF 

While he was Governor he took an active interest in 
the organization of the militia and in providing heavy 
ordnance, small arms and other munitions in store in the 
State Arsenal, ready for any emergency that might call 
for their use. During his first administration, the militia 
laws were revised and encouragement was given to the 
organization of a uniformed corps of militia, of which 
the present efficient " i^ational Guard " is the outgrowth. 
He held that a State without a well-organized and eifective 
militia failed in its duty to the general government. He 
considered it the duty of every State not oidy to he pre- 
pared to enforce the law within its own horders when the 
civil authorities prove powerless to maintain the peace, 
without calling for aid from regular troops, hut also to be 
able, in case of emergency, to aid the general government 
with military power.* 

NAMED FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND OUBERNATORIAL HONORS. 

In 1854 he was prominently named for Congress but, 
in a public letter, declined being considered as a candidate 
for the nomination on the ground that, if elected, it would 
destroy his private business, which the claims of his 
growing family would not warrant. f In 1858 it was again 
proposed to nominate him for Congress, but this came 
from the so-called " opposition '' part}', and had in view 
the division of the Democratic party. In reply to this 
proposition, which Avas made by a correspondent of a 
local newspaper, he said that believing the success of the 
Democratic party contributed to theweltare of the nation, 
he would exceedingly regret any divisions in its ranks, 
and that no act of his should tend toward that event. J 

In 185G his name Avas first mentioned for Governor of 
the State. He declined being considered as a candidate 
for the nomination, but recommended for it Col. William 
C. Alexander, who afterward received it. In 1859 he 
was again named for this position but he again declined. 



* Annual Message, 1874. t True American, May 31, 1854. 
X Letter to the Monmouth Inquirer, March 5, 1858. 



JOEL PARKER. 9 

111 the Presidential campaign of 1860 lie espoused the 
cause of Mr. Douglas as against a fusion ticket nominated 
at the suggestion of the Democratic State Central (Jom- 
mittee and representing the three organizations opposed 
to the Repuhlican party. lie insisted that the Democratic 
party of New Jersey was represented only in the conven- 
tion that nominated Mr. Douglas : that the candidates 
nominated were Democrats, the platform adopted was 
Democratic, and therefore that the party in Xew Jersey, 
by usage and by every principle of honor, was bound to 
sustain the action of that Convention. He, with others, 
published during the campaign a small newspaper* which 
was extensively circulated, gratuitously, throughout Mon- 
mouth county, in which he maintained his views. On 
the eve of the election a compromise was effected, both 
electoral tickets were withdrawn, and a single electoral 
ticket was agreed upon, composed of three friends of 
Douglas and two of each of the other candidates. Owing 
to the fact that a strai^-ht Dou^-las ticket was run in some 
sections, four of the Democratic electors were defeated, 
while the Douglas electors were elected by nearly five 
thousand majority. Joel Parker was one of these, and in 
the Electoral College cast one of the three Douglas votes 
of ISTew Jersey. He was again elected one of the Presi- 
dential electors for New Jersey in 1876, and cast liis vote 
for Samuel J. Tilden for President. 

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR. 

In the Fall of 1862 he was nominated by the Demo- 
cratic State Convention for Governor, and was elected by 
a majority of 14,600 votes — a majority three times as great 
as had ever before been given for any candidate for that 
position. His administration was eminently a successful 
one and was especiall}^ distinguished for its etficiency in 
promoting enlistments to aid in the suppression of the 
rebellion, and for successfully keeping up volunteering 

*Thc Spirit of Democracy. The only file of this newspaper known to be in existence 
is in the possession of the New Jersey Historical Society. 



10 MEMORIAL OF 

for this purpose for a year after all other States had re- 
sorted to drafting to fill up their regiments. 

In 1863, learning that the General Government was 
about to assign quotas to the several districts in New 
Jersey and to draft for the troops, Governor Parker ap- 
plied for authority to raise volunteers, to be credited to 
the (piota in case a draft should be ordered. The au- 
thority was granted, and under it he issued a proclama- 
tion to the people and an appeal to municipal authorities 
and individuals to make special etforts to promote volun- 
teering by public meetings and the payment of bounties. 
This aj)peal was responded to generally throughout the 
State, and was generously aided by the press without 
distinction of party. Two-thirds of the quotas subse- 
quently assigned were thus obtained, and the draft which 
had been ordered was postponed. This was at a season 
when labor was fully employed, and under circumstances 
that were discouraging.* Another assignment of quotas 
later in the same year was filled in like manner. Through 
these etforts Xew Jersey is enabled to boast that no man 
was ever taken unwillingly from the State to fill the quota 
of troops demanded by the geiieral government.f 

THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

It was during Governor Parker's first year (1863) that 
the great battle of Gettysburg was fought. When Lee 
invaded Pennsylvania, Governor Curtin, of that State, 
had but few troops at his command, and in the imminent 
peril that threatened. Governor Parker came to his assist- 
ance by inducing several regiments that had just returned 
to retrace their steps. lie also issued a proclamation to 
the people, and before the citizens of Philadelphia had 
recovered from their panic or had raised a single company 
to defend their State, thousands of Jerseymen were march- 
ing through that city to the scene of action, for which 

* Aminal Message, 1864. 

t For the official correspondence upon this and kindred subjects see Appendix to 
the Governor's Message, Legislative Locumeiits, 1865. 



• JOEL PABKER. 11 

service he received tlirougli Governor Cartiii the thanks 
of the people of Pennsylvania, and of President Lincoln, 
who wrote : " Please accept my sincere thanks for what 
you have done and are doing to get troops forward." Col. 
William R. Murphy, commanding a portion of the New 
Jersey troops in Pennsylvania during this emergency, in 
a letter to Governor Parker dated at Camp Curt hi, June 
20th, said: u * * ^y^ have received every attention 
because we are Jersey men. ' A citizen of iSTew Jersey ' 
is a prouder title than that of ' a Roman Citizen.' "* 

THE INVASION OF MARYLAND. 

In the summer of 186-1: the rebels under Ewell and 
Mosby invaded Maryland and the battle of Monocacy was 
fought, in which our Fourteenth Regiment was so badly 
cut up. In the absence of any definite information re- 
garding this invasion, and anticipating the necessity that 
appeared to be imminent, Governor Parker, without wait- 
ing to hear from the military authorities at Washington, 
immediately issued his proclamation calling for troops at 
a moment's notice. Of this proclamation the Philadelphia 
Inquirer, a Republican newspaper, said : 

Joel Parker, Governor of New Jersey, deserves the thanks of the 
loyal people of the United States. His proclamation, published yes- 
terday, is conceived in the genifine spirit of patriotism, and has a ring 
that will gladden every loyal heart. 

HOW HE CARED FOR JERSEY SOLDIERS IN THE FIELD. 

In 1863, after the battle of Gettysburg, and without 
waiting for the action of the Legislature, Governor Par- 
ker dispatched an agent to the battle-tield to personally 
superintend, with great care, the removal of the remains 
of the i!^e\v Jersey dead, a plot of ground was secured on 
the field, the bodies were carefully re-interred, and the 
ground was set apart for this sacred purpose, with appro- 
priate ceremonies, in the presence of a vast concourse of 
people assembled to witness them. 

* Legislative Documents, 18C5. 



12 MEMORIAL OF 

During his first year as Governor lie organized a State 
Agency, with headquarters at Washington City, to look 
after the welfare of the IS^ew Jersey troops in the field, to 
facilitate transfers and discharges in deserving cases, and 
to alleviate in many ways the sufl:erings of the sick and 
wounded in the hospitals. This agency was assisted at 
Washington hy an association of resident Jerseynien, 
without expense to the State. The agency also received 
money from the soldiers in the field and transmitted it to 
their families without expense to them, and during the 
war many hundreds of thousands of dollars were thus 
received and transmitted without loss. Thousands of 
N^ew Jersey soldiers and their families to-day Idess Gov- 
ernor Parker for his kindly sympathy and foresight in 
organizing this agenc}'. 

These are only examples of his constant and unremit- 
ting care and watchfulness over the interests of the brave 
Jerseymen who breasted the storm during the nation's 
peril. After every battle, and at intervals when circum- 
stances seemed to require it, special agents were dis- 
patched to the headquarters of the several regimental 
organizations in the field to ascertain their condition, to 
minister to the wants of the soldiers, and to relieve their 
sufferings. ]\Iost of this action was taken upon his own 
motion and at the dictates of 'his own heart and mind. 
He instituted incpiiries into the condition of the disabled 
soldiers and their families, and appointed a commission 
to report what legislation was necessary. In his second 
annual message he recommended the establishment of a 
soldiers' home, or retreat, which recommendation was 
acted upon, and homes were established which have since 
been the means of comfort and sustenance to hundreds of 
l^e\y Jersey soldiers Avho otherwise, in their declining 
years, would have had no home that they could properly 
call their own. 



JOEL PARKER. 13 

VIEWS AS TO THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR. 

Gov. Parker was frank and outspoken in his sentiments 
as to the conduct of the war. While ditfering frequently 
with the administration at Washington in regard to mat- 
ters of policy, he was very decided in his views as to the 
principles involved, and never faltered in his belief that 
the Union would be ultimately restored. In analyzing 
the causes which led to the war he held that the misguid- 
ed agitators in the Xorth for the abolition of slavery 
provoked the hatred of the South, severed the bonds of 
Christian fellowship and silenced the counsels of moder- 
ation and conciliation, thus enabling a minority of fanat- 
ical and ultra men in each section to control the current 
of events and to l)ring the Government to the verge of 
destruction. At the same time he insisted that the res- 
toration and maintenance of the Union of the States Avas 
the chief duty of the citizen. Failure in the proper ad- 
ministration of a good government did not discharge us 
from an obligation to perpetuate that government. It 
should rather increase our exertions to bring its rulers 
back to the true principles on which the government was 
founded. We should not be afraid of peace — an honor- 
able and permanent peace — whether it come by the exer- 
cise of power or the exercise of conciliation ; but it should 
be a peace on the basis of " the Union as it was ;" not a 
union of States where part are held in subjection as con- 
quered provinces, adding nothing to the material inter- 
ests and prosperity of the nation, and only furnishing a 
theatre of action for swarms of military otHcials ; but a 
Union of all the States, with their equality and rights un- 
impaired, and bringing with it such unity as will have the 
Constitution for its foundation and obedience to law its 
corner-stone.* He differed with the Administration at 
Washington in regard to the amnesty proclamation, 
because it dictated terms that honorable men, in his judg- 
ment, could not accede to, and to the emancipation proc- 

* Inaugural , 1863. 



14 MEMORIAL OF 

lamation, because the line of argument rendered the Con- 
stitution inoperative in time of war, and made all our 
rights subject to executive discretion.* He considered 
these measures calculated to prolong the war. He did 
not sympathize with the idea, entertained by some, that 
the war would destroy all liope of union, nor that it was 
to the interests of the country that our armies should be 
withdrawn from the South, with the idea that the South 
would at some future time voluntarily return to the 
Union. On the contrary he believed that such a policy 
would be a confession of weakness and would result in 
perpetual disunion, continual war and the overthrow of 
our system of government. He insisted upon " the duty 
of the State authorities to furnish the men necessary to 
destroy the armed power of the rebellion," and that it 
was " equally the duty of the general government to 
accompany the exercise of the power entrusted to it with 
proper terms of conciliation. "f Referring to the obstruc- 
tionists, who insisted among other things that the Union 
should not be restored under the old Constitution, and 
who denounced as traitors those who protested against 
such a policy, he urged that : 

Wise men will not l)e driven from the path of duty by the errors or 
vituperation of others. Whatever others may now say or do will not 
palliate the crime of those who took up arms against the government, 
or lessen the obligations of patriotic men to aid in their overthrow. 
We should not abandon the government of our country, engaged in 
war with those who would destroy our national existence, whether 
temporarily administered to our liking or not. The government is 
designed to be perpetual, while administrations are transient. We 
must subdue the rebellion and save the country in spite of all difficul- 
ties. That M'hich interferes with the speedy restoration of the Union 
under the Constitution, whether it proceeds from the enemy or exists 
among ourselves, must be overcome. Every obstacle in the way, 
whether it be the rebel armies, or the fatal policy of those in power, 
should be swept from existence by the peoi)le ; in the one case by the 
use of military force, and" in the other by the untrammeled exercise of 
the elective franchise. However strong our armies may become, suc- 

* Annual Message, 18G4. t Ibid. 



JOEL PARKER. 15 

eess will be delayed unless we have the right civil policy. In fact, 
without the right civil policy, victory will not give us a Union worthy 
of the name.* 

Ao-ain lie said : 

After the country shall have recovered from its present excitement 
it surely will be discerned that to restore the nation to its former hap- 
py condition of peace and unity the conquest of the territory alone 
will not suffice, but the hearts of the people must also be won back 
from their estrangement. But whatever difference of opinion may 
exist as to questions of policy, we should be united in the determina- 
tion to maintain the Union of the States. If those in rebellion desire 
to return they should not be prevented by unconstitutional and unjust 
conditions. Should they refuse to accept the offer of proper and just 
terms, upon them will be the responsibility. The Union mu.st be pre- 
served. The Union should be the sole condition of peace, and that 
must be adhered to with unswerving fidelity, as the only foundation of 
our strength, security and happiness as a nation. f 

Later in the progress of reconstruction he said : 

To give peace to the South and prosperity to the whole country, the 
Christian spirit of charity must be invoked. Magnanimity and for- 
giveness should take the place of hate and vengeance. Love and good- 
will can accomplish more than proseription.J 

A CLOSE ADHERENT TO THE ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLES OF 
FREE GOVERNMENT. 

Gov, Parker was a firm supporter of the fundaniental 
principles of our government as expounded by the fath- 
ers. He insisted upon maintaining the freedom of speech 
even in the throes of our civil war — not only as a sasred 
principle, but as a measure of public safety. He said : 

There would be a much better state of feeling and greater unity of 
sentiment among the people of the loyal States should it become more 
generally understood that men may oppose the policy of an adminis- 
tration and still be firm friends of the government and steadfast lovers 
and supporters of the Union. Minorities have an important work to 
do in opposing and checking the assumptions of arbitrary power and 
the errors of administration which continued success usually produces. 
None of us have a right to be idle or listless spectators of passing 
events. We all have an interest in the welfare of the nation, and 
should put forth every effort to maintain the integrity of the Union 
and perpetuate the government of our fathers. If we believe that 
measures have been inaugurated which, if persisted in, will continue 

* Annual Message, 1864. f Annual Message, 18C5. | Inaugural, 1872. 



16 MEMORIAL OF 

indefinitely tlie terrible strife between the sections, and finally produce 
separation, it is not only our right but our solemn duty to use every 
lawful means to induce a change of measures. Such action, when not 
taking the form of factious interference, is perfectly consistent with 
obedience to law and the fulfilment of every obligation imposed by the 
highest type of loyalty, and will result not in weakening the govern- 
ment but in giving it strength and stability by correcting the errors of 
those who administer it. AVe should never despair of the republic 
The greater the exigency the higher should our patriotism rise.* 

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND ARBITRARY ARRESTS. 

He was always jealous of the rights of the individual 
citizen as guaranteed by the Constitution. He at all 
times firmly and earnestly maintained personal liberty as 
one of the absolute rights of man, and its protection one 
of the primary objects of government.f Referring to the 
arbitrary seizure of citizens of the State without due pro- 
cess of law he said :l " It concerns every man in the 
community. It is the privilege as well as the solemn duty 
of a free people to inquire into any claim of power which 
infringes upon the well defined guards of personal liber- 
ty," and while recognizing the necessity for the suspen- 
sion of the writ of Jiabcas corpus when public safety 
rerpiired it, he held that it was " of vital importance to 
the people to know by what power tlie privilege of this 
great writ can be suspended, and at whose will their lib- 
erties are lield. ^ * It is as much a departure from the 
Constitution, and almost as dangerous in its tendency, 
for one department of government to infringe upon the 
province and assume the powers delegated to another 
department, as it is to usurp powers that have never 
passed from the people ;"§ and referring to the alleged 
"military necessity" as a justification for the suspension 
of the writ, he concluded: " As this alleged power [the 
war power] is limited only by the will and discretion of 
him who exercises it, there is no conceivable form of out- 
rage upon individual rights or public interests that cannot 
be perpetrated under it." While admitting that the mo- 

* Annual Message, 1865. f Inaugural, 1863. X Ibid. § Ibid. 



JOEL PARKER. 17 

tive of the Executive might be pure he urged that there 
might be a radical error of judgment, and it was against 
the principle that he protested, " in the name of the peo- 
ple of a sovereign State,"* In an address delivered at 
Freehold, in 1864, he said : 

No inmate of Fort Lafayette has been more violent in his denuncia- 
tions of the exercise of arbitrary power than are the able Chairmen of 
. the Senate and House Committees on the rebellious States. And yet 
these very men, leaders in the respective houses of Congress, in com- 
mon with the majority of the dominant party, have upheld the Exec- 
utive in repeated encroachments on the rights of the people, more 
dangerous in their character than those of which they complain. Cit- 
izens have been violently dragged from their houses without warrant, 
without the semblance of a trial, merely at the whim of some Secretary 
— ^the ringing of his little bell — and for long weary months have been 
confined in the damp cell of a prison, and at length discharged with- 
out so much as being informed of the nature of the accusation, or even 
of the ground of suspicion against them. This has been done in com- 
munities far removed from the seat of war, in States where no armed 
rebel had ever set his foot, where the courts were open, and where the 
laws were faithfully and impartially administered by pure and learned 
judges. And this has occurred in the nineteenth century, under what 
is called a republican government, in a land where there is a written 
constitution, and among a people sprung from an ancestry who for 
centuries contended against kingly power, and at last secured in Magna 
Charta the liberty of the people.f 

And on another occasion he said : 

Vest in one man the discretion when he will suspend the privilege 
of the writ of habeas corpus in any part of the country ; give him au- 
thority to silence the courts and render the civil law powerless ; then 
place the army and navy at his command to carry his mandates into 
execution, and you constitute a ruler clothed with kingly powers more 
absolute than those possessed by any monarch who has ruled in Eng- 
land since Magna Charta.^ 

At the close of his first term of ofHce he was able to 
boast, with truthfulness, that not a single right of the 
State had been yielded, and not one of her citizens during 
his administration had been deprived of his liberty with- 
out due process of law.§ 

* Inaugural, 1863. f Monmouth Democrat, Aug. 25, 1864. 
I Inaugural, 1872. § Annual Message, 1866. 



18 MEMORIAL OF 

A FIRiM SUPPORTER OF STATE RKiHTS. 

Governor Parker was a strong adherent to the doctrine 
of State Rights. He maintained that the sovereignty of 
a State is as complete and real in its proper sphere as is 
the sovereignty of the United States within its sphere, 
but he referred cases of doubt or controversy as to the 
extent of those powers to the supreme legal tribunal pro- 
vided for their adjudication, and insisted that in deiining 
them the Constitution of the United States must be our 
guide. And this not only in times of peace — the reserved 
rights of the States- and the rights of the people were to 
be protected at all times, and especially in times of discord 
and angry strife, when passion often rules the hour, and 
power is prone to encroach on law. At the same time 
he denounced the doctrine of secession as a political 
heres3',~ at variance with the letter and spirit of the Con- 
stitution.* And again, referring to the growing disposi- 
tion to ignore the political existence of the States, to treat 
them as subordinate to the Federal Government, and to 
centralize power in the President and Congress, he said : 

The time has come when all who value the institutions established 
through trial and privation by the wisdom of our ancestors, and who 
cherish the principles on which our government is reared, should for- 
get minor differences of opinion, and unite in opposing the progress of 
this dangerous doctrine. Whenever the reserved rights of the States 
are encroached upon, the citizens of every State are interested, and 
should remonstrate without waiting the execution of the impending 
unconstitutional laws.f 

The States have rights which should be firmly maintained, but it has 
been settled for all time that to secede from the Union at pleasure, 
without the consent of the other States, is not a right.J 

As an instance of his firm adherence to this principle, 
at a period in our nation's history when strong men 
quailed and sought by silence to avoid the storm, his con- 
troversy, since famous, with Secretary of War Stanton, is 
referred to. In March, 1864, at the Jersey City depot, 
a soldier attached to a Massachusetts regiment shot and 



* Inaugural, 1872. t Hjid. t Annual Message, 1871. 



JOEL PARKER. 1^ 

wounded a youth. The 3'oung man died. The soldier was 
arrested by the civil authorities, committed to jail, and 
indicted by the Hudson connty court. Before the trial 
came on Secretary Stanton wrote to Governor Parker 
requesting him to order the delivery of the prisoner into 
the custody of the United States military authorities, add- 
ing : " It is not supposed the Governor will decline this 
request, but should he do so it will be the duty of the 
department to urge it," and claiming that Governors of 
other States had not hesitated to comply with similar 
requests. Governor Parker replied at length to this 
communication, taking the ground that the Executive 
and Judicial branches of the government were distinct 
and independent, and that he had no right to interfere 
in the case. That the decision of the court that it had 
jurisdiction must stand until reversed by its own action 
or by the action of some competent tribunal of review, 
and concluding with the words: "I respectfully decline 
to order the prisoner remitted to the military author- 
ities."* The request of the Secretary of War was not 
renewed, and so the time-honored doctrine of the fathers 
was maintained by Xevv Jersey, and the law had its due 
course. 

ARMING THE NEGROES AND THE EMANCIPATION 
PROCLAMATION. 

Governor Parker doubted the expediency of arming the 
Southern negroes. In a letter to a Township Committee 
in Hunterdon county he said he was satisfied that the 
Union army would then have been stronger, both in 
numbers and eificiency, if the Government had never 
recruited in the rebel States. To insure success, he 
thought the people should be willing to do their own 
fighting, and not place reliance on a distinct and inferior 
race, while the Emancipation Proclamation and the con- 
sequent arming of the negroes added to the desperation 

* Legislative Documents, 1865. 



20 MEMORIAL OF 

of the enemy and tended to build up an almost insur- 
mountable barrier of terms to paciiication, and at the 
same time quenched the spirit of volunteering in the 
Xorth.* 

SOLDIERS VOTING IN THE FIELD. 

Under the Constitution of the State, as it then stood, 
(since amended), there was no provision for taking the 
votes of the soldiers in the field. The subject was dis- 
cussed at length by the Legislature and resolutions were 
adopted requesting the militar}- authorities to permit the 
soldiers who were legal voters to visit their homes on days 
of election, so far as it could be done without detriment 
to the service. In transmitting these resolutions to the 
President, Governor Parker expressed the wish that all 
ISTew Jersey soldiers, without distinction of party, who 
could be spared, should be allowed to come home on elec- 
tion day, and especial reference was made to soldiers in 
hospitals who were able to travel. He also wrote to the 
State Agent requesting him to look after the soldiers 
al)out Washington and assist them in obtaining furloughs 
for this purpose. t 

EXEMPTION OF GOVERNMENT BONDS. 

Upon other public questions growing out of the war he 
was equally frank and outspoken. He objected to the 
exemption of Government bonds from taxation as unwise, 
because it tended to increase the riches of the wealthy at 
the expense of the poorer classes, but the faith of the Gov- 
ernment having been pledged the agreement should be 
strictly adhered to ; at the same time he urged that the 
policy should be abandoned, and that new loans by the 
Government should be expressly subjected to State tax- 
ation at a rate equal to the assessment on other property. 
He also recommended the passage of an act by the Legis- 
lature taxing the shares of the capital stock of all ]!^ational 
banks within the State. | 

* Legislative Documents, 1865, p. 132. t Ibid. p. 148. 
X Annual Message, 186G. 



JOEL PARKER. 21 

AN ADMIRER AND FRIEND OF McCLELLAN. 

Governor Parker was a warm admirer and friend of 
General McClellan. He believed that his removal from 
the command of the army was instigated by civilians and 
politicians, and was a mistake upon the part of the mili- 
tary authorities. " This Jersey exile," he said, " will live 
in the hearts of his countrymen, and his memory will be 
cherished by mankind so long as the country to whose 
welfare he has devoted his life shall have a history."* 

HIS SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL POLICY. 

His administration continued until after the close of 
the war. During" his term of office not a sins-le bond of 
the State was sold below par, while the premiums on 
them amounted to over |100,000, and at its close the State 
did not owe a dollar on civil account and had in its treas- 
ury an actual cash balance of over $164, 000. f lu his first 
annual message he recommended the passage of a law 
providing for the redemption and payment of the bonds 
issued for the expenses of raising and equipping the State 
troops serving in tlie war, and outlined a plan for that 
purpose. The Legislature adopted the plan and recom- 
mendation, and created the fand known as the Sinking 
Fund, by which the entire war debt of the State, amount- 
ing to 13,000,000, has been practically paid oif without 
resorting to a direct tax upon the people for that purpose, 
the fund now in hand being nearly or quite sufficient to 
meet the outstanding bonds as they fiill due ; in addition 
the fund has paid in interest an amount exceeding the 
original debt. 

PROPOSED FOR THE NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 

At the close of his first gubernatorial term Governor 
Parker at once resumed his professional practice. In 
1868, in the National Democratic Convention at New 
York, he received the unanimous vote of the jSTew Jersey 

* Address at Freehold, 1864. t Annual Message, 1866. 



22 MEMORIAL OF 

deletjation for the Democratic nomination for President 
of the United States on every ballot. In 1876, he again 
received the same vote for the same position. In that 
year he was placed at the head of the electoral ticket and 
voted for Samuel J. Tilden. In 1884 he was again 
strongly urged as the Democratic Presidential candidate. 

RE-ELECTED GOVERNOR. 

In 1871, prior to the assembling of the Democratic 
State Convention, he positively declined to be a candidate 
for nomination for Governor, but the enthusiasm of that 
Convention compelled him to yield, and he was nomi- 
nated by acclamation, all the other candidates having 
been withdrawn by their friends. At the election which 
followed he was successful by about six thousand major- 
ity, which, although less than his majority in 1862, was 
yet a more decisive victory for him, in consideration of 
all the circumstances. At no time had the Republican 
party been so powerful as in that year, carrying every 
other Northern State by strong majorities. In that year, 
for the first time, colored men voted in New Jersey, and 
that vote (about 7,000 strong) was cast solidly against 
Governor Parker, who ran about nine thousand ahead of 
his ticket, the other Democratic candidates being beaten 
by about three thousand votes. 

HIS SECOND TERM. 

His second term as Governor was conspicuously suc- 
cessful. The exciting questions which presented them- 
selves during his first term did not exist, but there were 
many topics of legislation which were important and ex- 
cited much interest. The statute books show that more 
laws were passed in 1872, '73 and '74 than ever before or 
since in the same length of time. It was under his ad- 
ministration that the General Railroad Law (of which he 
was an advocate) was passed, and the constitutional 
amendments which brought about important reforms were 



• JOEL PARKER. 23 

adopted. The National Guard was also, under his ad- 
ministration, brought to a high degree of etRciencj. 

The same frankness that characterized his treatment of 
public questions during the excitement of the Civil War 
was apparent in his administration of civil affairs during 
his second term. 

THE LABOR QUESTION. 

Upon the Labor question just then coming into promi- 
nence he heldthat there should be no conflict between 
labor and capital ; that the interests of both could be so 
harmonized as to benefit both ; that the rights of capital 
should be protected, jet it was so powerful that the watch- 
ful care of legislation was necessary to defend labor from 
its impositions. Among other things he recommended 
the abandonment of all class legislation as inimical to the 
interest of the laboring classes, and a rigid inquirj^ into 
the treatment of children in workshops and factories — 
their minds should not be left untutored, and the cupidi- 
ty of employers or the necessities of parents should not 
be permitted to overtax their energies.* 

MUNICIPAL BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 

He earnestly opposed the system which had grown up 
during the war of governing cities by municipal boards 
or commissions appointed by the Legislature. Being ir- 
responsible to the people, they became a vast political 
machine, exercising a dangerous power beyond the bounds 
of their jurisdiction, and imposing burdens of taxation 
for the benefit of a favored few, without the consent of 
the people, and which they were powerless to resist. He 
denounced it as the worst form of tyranny, and urged 
that the nearer the ballot-box we bring the responsibility 
of the ofiicer, the better administration we would have, 

* Inaugural, 1872. 



24 MEMORIAL OF 

and that we should not be afraid to trust the people to 
govern themselves.* 

JURY COMMISSIONS. 

During the session of 1873 he vetoed a bill to take the 
power of selecting grand and petit jurors from the hands 
of the Sheriff of Hudson County and vest it in a com- 
mission of two persons, to be appointed by the Judges of 
the Court of Common Pleas. In this case Governor 
Parker said : 

If we have just and fair men to select and impanel our jurors, it 
makes but little difference, practically, by whom they are chosen, or 
whether they are called by the name of commissioner or sheriff. But 
suppose the officer entrusted with this delicate and important duty 
shall abuse his trust, and use his office for corrupt or selfish purposes, 
it is very important that the people get rid of him as soon as possible. 
The sheriff is elected annuallyf by a direct vote of the people, and if 
he prove unfit or unworthy, the position may be filled by another at 
the next election ; but an incompetent or corrupt commissioner, ap- 
pointed in the way this bill proposes, would be beyond the power of 
removal by the people. He may be retained as long as the major part 
of the Common Pleas Judges shall determine. The Judges themselves 
are independent of the people of the county, for they are appointed 
for five years by a body of representatives from every section of the 
State. I have no doubt that the framers of the law so long existing in 
this State, which allows the Sheriff to hold the office for three years, 
and yet requires his election every year, had in view this vital ques- 
tion, and intended that the people should not part with their control 
over the officer who had the selection of the jurors, to whom their 
dearest rights and privileges are committed. The trial by jury has 
justly been denominated the principal bulwark "of the people's liber- 
ties. * * * I am not willing to affix my signature to a bill which, 
in effect, if not in words, declares that the people of that county are 
incapable of self-government.J 

BRIBERY AT ELECTIONS. 

lie held that bribery at elections imperilled the exist- 
ence of free governments, and that unless the elective 
franchise could be protected from corrupt influences our 
whole system would be destroyed. He denounced cor- 



* Inaugural, 1872. f The law in this respect has since been changed. 
X Legislative Documents, 1873. 



JOEL PARKER. '-^0 

ruption in office as the prevailing sin of the da}', which 
had become a national reproach. Men whose characters 
in private life were above suspicion seemed to lose moral 
tone as soon as they obtained official position. They did 
not appear to realize the fact that peculation from the 
public treasury was infinitely worse than robbing from 
their neighbor's person, and a morbid public sentiment 
had grown up, especially among the young, that prevent- 
ed them from realizing the heinousness of official fraud, 
while a failure of public officials to duplicate their legal 
pay was by many considered as evidence of incapacity. 
The chief cause of the increase of corruption he attrib- 
uted to the fact that guilty persons when discovered were 
allowed to go unwhipped of justice, and it would not 
cease until the men who thus abused their trusts were 
compelled not only to disgorge their ill-gotten gains, but 
were dealt with as common felons. " He who robs the 
people of their treasure should certainly stand no better 
before the law, or in society, than the vagrant whom ne- 
cessity drives to crime. Equal justice should be adminis- 
tered to all, without regard to high position, respectable 
connections, aristocracy of birth and association, or ad- 
ventitious wealth."* 

" PUBLIC OFFICE A PUBLIC TRUST." 

Governor Parker was essentially a party man and 
neglected no opportunity to advance the interests of his 
party, yet his iirst consideration was always the public 
interests. In all of his appointments, military and civil, 
he carefully scrutinized the character and qualifications 
of the applicants for positions, and the fitness of the ap- 
pointee generally silenced the clamor of the friends of 
disappointed candidates. The distribution of official 
patronage is the rock upon which the popularity of the 
Executive is generally wrecked, and it is a noteworthy 
fact that Governor Parker retired at the close of both of 

* Inaugural, 1872. 



26 MEMORIAL OF 

Lis terms Avith his popularity unimpaired, and yet he 
made more appointments than any other man who has 
ever filled the Executive chair of our State. During his 
first term he made thousands of appointments and promo- 
tions in the I^ew Jersey regiments in the field, and in not 
one of them was it ever charged that it was made for 
political reasons only, 

A FRIEND OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND REFORMATORIES. 

He w^as always a warm and earnest friend of our public 
school system, and neglected no opportunity to advance 
its interests and to commend it to the fostering care of 
the State. The schools became free at the opening of his 
second term as Governor, and in his Inaugural he recom- 
mended that whatever was required to keep them free 
should be done. He commended the appropriation of 
the rentals and sales of riparian rights to the school fund, 
and believed that if the fund thus created was wisely 
administered it would, in addition to the income of the 
fund from other sources, produce a sum sufficient to 
make the schools free forever, without taxation for that 
purpose.* 

He was also warmly interested in the reformation of 
youthful criminals, and urged that their incarceration in 
the State Prison, in contact with hardened oftenders, pre- 
vented reformation. f In 1864 he appointed a commission 
in accordance with an act of the Legislature of that year, 
to inquire into the methods adopted by other States, and 
to report a system of reform adapted to our own State. 
In his message of 1865, referring to the report of this 
committee, he recommended the establishment of a Re- 
form School, out of which grew the present excellent 
institution under that name, and which has been the 
means of reclaiming and restoring to society, as useful 
members thereof, hundreds of youths who otherwise 
would have grown up in the ranks of the criminal classes. 

* Inaugural, 1872. t Auuual Message, 1864. 



JOEL PARKER. 27 

FOR A NON-PARTISAN JUDICIARY. 

In the gubernatorial campaign of 1859 the leading 
issue in the State was the question of a non-partisan judi- 
ciary, growing out of a difference between the Executive 
and the Senate on the appointment of a Chancellor dur- 
ing the Legislative session of that year, which left the 
office vacant and temporarily closed the Court, Mr. 
Parker took the ground that the people of N^ew Jersey 
did not desire to have a change in the constitution of the 
Court with ever}^ change of the Executive. The Judi- 
ciary, he maintained, should be composed of competent 
and experienced men, the farthest removed from political 
bitterness ; that such offices should not be regarded as 
the property of a party, and that the only inquiry should 
be : " What is best for the interests of the public ?"* 
Subsequently, when he became Governor, he carried this 
principle out in practice and made his judicial appoint- 
ments from the ranks of both parties. Referring to the 
well-deserved reputation throughout the country of our 
courts of justice, he said : 

There is not on record a single decision of our courts open to the 
faintest suspicion of partisanship or corrupt influence. The importance 
of maintaining the high character of the Judiciary cannot be over-esti- 
mated. Where the fountain of justice becomes impure there cannot 
be good government. The property, liberty and lives of the people 
are in the hands of the courts. To insure respect for judicial decisions, 
there should not be even the appearance of partiality or bias. Should 
all the judges be of the same political organization, the usefulness of 
the court would be impaired, and in times of excitement its opinions 
be shorn of that degree of weight which should always accompany the 
administration of justice.f 

ENCOURAGED FOREIGN IMMIGRATION. 

He did not sympathize with the idea that foreign im- 
migration was injurious to the general interests or sub- 
versive of American institutions. On the other hand, he 
welcomed the industrious immigrant to assist in develop- 
ing the inexhaustible resources of the "West and South. 



* Letter in Newark Evening Journal, September 12, 1859. f Inaugural, 1872. 



28 MEMORIAL OF 

Our territory was capable of sustaining hundreds of mil- 
lions of prosperous and happy people, and every induce- 
ment should be held out to promote its settlement. 
" Why wait a century for what may be accomplished in 
a generation ? Why delay our manifest destiny ? * * 
Welcome them to our shores. Bid them come and occu- 
py the land, build up the waste places and obliterate the 
ravages of war."* And again, after referring to the 
report of Prof. Geo. H. Cook,t that over a million acres 
of land in New Jersey, within convenient distance of 
marl, were unimproved, and might be brought under 
cultivation with profitable result, he said : 

The time has come for the Legislature to inaugurate a system by 
means of which immigration shall be invited and encouraged. * * * 
AVith proper exertion, the sparsely settled districts so near the two 
great cities, possessing, in addition to the advantages already men- 
tioned, a salubrious climate, free schools and good laws administered 
by a learned and incorruptible judiciary, can soon be filled with hon- 
est, hardy and industrious colonists. As population adds to the real 
wealth of a State, the subject is worthy the attention of the Legis- 
lature.J 

HOW HE EXERCISED THE VETO POWER. 

He did not hesitate to use the veto power whenever he 
deemed it to be necessary. Among the notable instances 
in which he exercised this prerogative were the vetoes of 
the bills repealing the law requiring joint resolutions to 
be submitted to the Governor for his approval ;§ creating 
a jury commission for Hudson County ;|| and extending 
the provisions of the act last named to Essex County.** 
All of these measures contained provisions which he con- 
sidered inimical to the interests of the people or subver- 
sive of the principles of good government. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND JUDGE. 

After the expiration of his second term as Governor he 
resumed his professional business at Freehold, and soon 

* Inaugural, 1872. f Report of State Board of Agriculture, 1874. 

X Annual Message, 1874. § Legislative Documents, 1872. || Ibid, 1874. ** Ibid, 1874. 



JOEL PARKER. 29 

acquired a large practice. On the 27th of January, 1875, 
he was nominated by Governor Bedle as Attorney-Gen- 
eral of the State, and was confirmed by the Senate with- 
out reference. He held this position until the 5th of 
April following, when he resigned it in order to give 
exclusive attention to his private practice. In 1880 he 
was nominated by Governor McClellan and confirmed by 
the Senate as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, 
and was assigned to the Second Judicial District, com- 
prising the counties of Gloucester, Camden and Burling- 
ton, and was reappointed to the same position, on the 
expiration of his term, by Governor Green, in February 
of last year. 

In his judicial career, in all his relations to the Bar, and to its indi- 
vidual members, he was kind, considerate and courteous, and to his 
duties in this position he brought to bear the indefatigable industry 
which had characterized his efforts in other departments of the public 
service and in his private practice. As a judge he was painstaking, 
faithful, and sagacious. His strong common sense supplied his judg- 
ment with qualities which distinguished them as judicial deliverances.* 
He was always kind and courteous to the younger members of the 
Bar, and he would not allow any opponent to take unfair advantage 
of another to defeat the ends of justice, or allow the law to be made an 
engine of injustice for the oppression of any citizen. If there ever was 
a man who guarded the liberties of the people upon the Bench, that 
man was Judge Parker. Cases arising from spite, ill will, or anything 
of that kind, found no favor in his Court.f Other men have been 
more profound jurists — more eloquent as orators — more learned — more 
original — but with their every genius in these directions they have 
had a corresponding lack in some other quarter, and your man of pro- 
found learning has often been neglectful in affairs. Your brilliant 
orator, or even profound jurist, may be unworthy of the trusts that 
have been confided to him, but Judge Parker, possessing none of these 
qualities in an exalted degree, more than compensated for them by the 
profound balance of his character. Like such men as Hampden and 
Washington, he was valuable because of the sturdy reliability of his 
temperament, and for the earnestness and zeal with which he entered 
into the public service, rather than for any startling brilliancy in any 
one direction ; so that what we all instinctively recognize in him is not 
some quality or attainment which he happened to possess, but the 

* Mr. Samuel H. Grey's report to the meeting of the Camden Bar. 
t Mr. Scovel's addres.s to the ramden Bar. 



30 MEMORIAL OF 

man himself, with his evenly balanced qualities, which make him the 
type to our minds of all that goes to make up a thoroughly worthy 
man and the most admirable kind of citizen that any State can pos- 
sess* 

HIS DEVOTION TO DUTY. 

Devotion to duty was a ruling principle of his life. This 
trait in his character is well expressed in the following 
extract from Mr. Grey's address : 

It was Judge Parker's secret pride, expressed in confidential worda 
to confidential friends, that while he held public ofiice he exercised 
his power for the public good, to the best of his judgment. * * * 
This distinguishing characteristic — this faithfulness in the discharge of 
duty — this self-abnegation and devotion to public service, united with 
the amiable characteristics of his nature, made him during his life the 
most conspicuous of Jerseymen, and contributed at his death to that 
most touching and eloquent manifestation of public appreciation of his 
character at his funeral, when men from all walks of life — from posi- 
tions of responsibility — from active, engrossing and responsible pur- 
suits — all sorts and conditions of men gathered from all quarters of 
the State of New Jersey, at an inclement season, at an inaccessible 
place, to testify by their presence to the estimation in which this man 
Avas held by his fellow-citizens. Not because he was a Judge of the 
Supreme Court of the State, and as such had faithfully discharged his 
judicial duty ; not because he was a prominent member of a great po- 
litical organization, and as such had maintained for years successful 
leadership, but because in all his positions, many and responsible as 
they were — because in all his career, lengthened as it was — he had 
faithfully discharged every duty and fully met every obligation which 
was put upon him. That lesson is one which he leaves behind.f 

PRIDE IN HIS NATIVE STATE. 

Joel Parker was essentially a Jersey man. He was 
proud of his native State and entertained a profound 
admiration for its historv. One of his earlier literary 
eflbrts was the preparation of a lecture on " The Early 
History of New Jersey," which he delivered in various 
parts of the State with great acceptability. When he 
delivered it at Trenton, according to a notice at the time 
in one of the daily newspapers of that city,| his audience 
rewarded him at the close " with a vote of thanks and 

* Mr. Charles G. Garrison's address to the Camden Bar. 

+ Samuel H. Grey's address to the Camden Bar. % State Gazette, March 3, 1859. 



JOEL PARKER. 31 

three hearty cheers," the latter certainly a novelty in con- 
nection with a purely literary essay, but showing conclu- 
sively the spirit that pervaded it and the inspiration that 
was communicated by its delivery. This innate State 
pride was apparent at all times, and was not to be sup- 
pressed even in his State papers. At the conclusion of 
one of his annual messages* he uses the following elo- 
quent language, which cannot fail to find a response in 
the heart of every true Jerseyman : 

The State for which you legislate occupies a proud position. In 
every emergency she has proved true to her revolutionary fame. In 
every war in which the country has been engaged, New Jersey has 
contributed freely of her treasure and her sons. Her people are pa- 
triotic and conservative, and eminently national. They have always 
been willing to stand by the contract as our fathers made it. They 
have always observed the constitutional rights of other States and of 
the nation. They love the Union and will labor for its preservation 
as the first great object to be accomplished. 

And again, at the close of an address delivered at 

Freehold, he said : 

I am proud of this gallant little State of New Jersey, and would not 
to-night exchange my position as her Chief Magistrate for the crown 
of the most powerful kingdom of the old world.f 

He always warmly resented any indignity aimed at the 

State. During the war a bill was introduced in Congress, 

under the power of the general government to create post 

routes and military roads, to confer upon certain railroads 

in New Jersey certain privileges for the transportation of 

goods and merchandise, in defiance of the laws of the 

State, Governor Parker at once sent a message to the 

Legislature | reciting the facts, and concluding as follows : 

The passage of such an act (although of no binding force, because 
unconstitutional), would be an insult to the people of New Jersey. 
It would take the creatures of our law, now under the ban of judicial 
injunction for violation of our statutes, and, in direct opposition to 
the decision of our courts, attempt to make them independent of and 
superior to the power that created them. Such action deserves, and 
should receive, the strongest legislative remonstrance. Let it be dis- 



* Annual Message, 1864. 

t Monmouth Democrat, August 25, 1864. X Special Message, March 23, 1864. 



32 MEMORIAL OF 

tinctly understood by those who would inflict this wrong and indig- 
nity upon our State, that while New Jersey will comply with every 
legal obligation, and will respect and protect the rights of all, she will 
not permit any infringement of her rights without resorting to every 
lawful means to prevent it. 

FAITH IN THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY. 

He also loved his country, was proud of its history, and 

had an abiding faith in its future. Upon this point, and 

referrino; to the second centennial of its history, he said: 

At the rate of increase that has marked her progress in the past, she 
will at the close of the next century contain a population of hundreds 
of millions. As the leading power of the West, she will announce and 
maintain the policy that should control America. That policy will 
surely be annexation to herself or the maintenance of republican gov- 
ernment in all the countries and islands of this hemisphere. The op- 
pressed people of every clime, especially those in her own vicinage 
struggling for independence, will have her sympathy and recognition. 
Barbarities which disgrace humanity and shock the civilized world 
will no longer be tolerated. The shackles of the slave will be broken 
wherever her policy extends. And this, the American policy of the 
second century of the existence of the nation, will be upheld by her — 
not for the purpose of aggrandizement — not for the sake of exercising 
arbitrary force^ — not from motives of ambition that would delight in 
agitation or conflict of arms — but as a duty imposed by the Supreme 
Ruler of the Universe on this the great Power of the Western Hemi- 
sphere, to elevate humanity therein and diffuse the blessings of liberty 
and Christian civilization.* 

AS A POLITICIAN. 

" He was a politician not in the low sense in which men 
may be politicians, but in the higher and more exalted 
sense in which a man as a member of the community acts 
in the interests of his fellow-citizens for the welfare and 
weal of the State. In whatever position we find him, 
whether in the Legislature, as Governor, as Attorney- 
General or as Judge, we find him alwaj's governed by a 
desire to do right. His views were not circumscribed by 
narrow limits — he saw the whole State and its conditions 
at a glance. His finger was naturally upon the public 
pulse, and bis discernment enabled him instinctively to 



* Annual Message, 1874. 



JOEL PARKER. 33 

anticipate the public necessities. As Governor of the 
State he exhibited in a peculiar way the patriotic instincts 
of his nature. There was no disloyalty in his composi- 
tion."* " His public life and doings constitute the most 
important part of the history of our State for the last 
quarter of a centur3^ His support came from the people ; 
he was of them and he preferred them. He boasted of 
Ms yeoman ancestry. The greatness he desired was the 
greatness which industry and merit gives. He preferred 
to be the first of a respected house, rather than the second, 
living on the prestige of a borrowed light."t 

AS A LAWYER. 

" As a lawyer he was not disposed to technicalities, nor 
was he dogmatic or pertinacious. His chief desire seemed 
to be to try a case upon its merits, and he tried and 
argued it with all due respect to the court and the 
counsel."! 

HIS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ECONOMY. 

A prominent trait of his character was his economy, 
which was exhibited in his public as well as in his private 
affairs. It was not a miserly economy that would deny 
proper and liberal expenditures, but one that guarded 
carefully against wastefulness or extravagance. In his 
personal affairs he at all times maintained his family in a 
style according well with his means and the place that 
he filled. After he became Governor he rebuilt the 
family mansion with the proceeds of the inheritance from 
his father's estate, making it the largest and most impos- 
ing one in the town, and furnished it in a style consistent 
with its exterior. In it he entertained his guests in a 
manner befitting his station. He felt his importance as 
Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of which he was 
so proud, and magnified his position in all his surround- 
ings. " He was every inch the Governor," whether at 

* Mr. Philip S. Scovel's remarks at the meeting of the Camden Bar. 
t Mr. John W. Wartman's remarks at the meeting of the Camden Bar. 
X Mr. Philip S. Scovel at the meeting of the Camden Bar. 



34 MEMORIAL OF 

home or abroad, but never in an offensive sense, for tlie 
people everywhere appeared to be as proud of him as he 
was of the office which he so nobly filled. In his first 
inaugural he outlined his views on public economy, and 
to these he adhered throughout his public career. He 
said on that occasion : 

In conducting the operations of our State Government, the strictest 
economy should be exercised. This is especially important at a time 
when we are subjected to extraordinary expenses in consequence of 
the deplorable civil war in which we are involved. In the midst of 
business depression and financial derangement and in view of increas- 
ing taxation, unnecessary expenditure of the people's money should 
be scrupulously avoided. Extravagant appropriations by government 
not only fasten heavy burthens on the people, but tend to corrupt pub- 
lic morals and increase private profligacy. 

At another time, referring to the enormous expenditures 
incident to the Civil War, he said the people seemed to 
have lost a proper appreciation of the value of money, 
and to have become careless of its use — that the economy 
of former times was now by many considered parsimony. 
The extravagance in both public and private life, entailed 
by the war, was a greater burden than the public debt, 
and while he held that every dollar of the latter, principal 
and interest, must be paid, he urged that N"ew Jersey, in 
its legislation involving appropriations of the public mon- 
ey, should be foremost in rescuing the country from the 
new danger with which it was threatened.* 

AS A LEADER IN HIS TOWN AND COUNTY. 

He always took a warm interest in the public enter- 
prises of his town and county, and promoted them by 
every means at his command. During all the earlier 
years of his active life he was looked up to as the leader, 
liis well-known perseverance and energy giving promise 
of success to every movement to which he lent his aid. 
Among the prominent enterprises in which he was active- 
ly engaged were the construction of the railroad between 
Freehold and Jamesburg, which was first opened to the 

* Inaugural, 1872. 



JOEL PARKER. 35 

public in 1853 ; the County Agricultural Society, of which 
he was the founder, in the same year, and the Battle 
Monument, which he originated. Of the success of these 
enterprises and of his association with them he was always 
proud. The latter was the crowning enterprise of his life, 
into which he entered with all the zeal of his nature. 
The beautiful shaft which now marks the spot where the 
first engagement of that memorable day took place, is 
alike a monument to the fame of our revolutionary fathers 
and to the patriotism and energy of the man who was 
before all others instrumental in its erection, and forever 
links his name with those of the heroes of the Revolution. 

HOW HE BUILT THE BATTLE-MONUMENT. 

This enterprise was first publicly broached by Governor 
Parker in an address at a local anniversary in Freehold, 
in the summer of 1877, and at the same time he suggested 
the action which resulted in the organization, three 
months later, of an association of which he was made 
President, having for its object the solicitation of funds 
for the erection of the monument. During the three 
years that ensued he gave much of his time to the work, 
sometimes under circumstances of the greatest discour- 
agement. He organized committees of ladies and gentle- 
men in every township in Monmouth, delivered addresses 
on every available occasion, personally superintended 
fairs, festivals, lectures, and other public entertainments 
for the purpose of raising funds, and even enlisted the 
school-children throughout the county in the work. He 
aimed to secure $10,000 by private subscription, and as a 
last resort to bring up the deficiency of this sum, he went 
among wealthy persons of his acquaintance outside of his 
county and State and levied contributions. Havino- 
secured this amount he next made an appeal to the Legis- 
lature and then to the Congress of the UnitedjStates, in 
both of which he was successful. The corner-stone of the 
monument was laid, wnth imposing civil and military 



36 MEMORIAL OF 

ceremonies, on the centennial anniversary of the battle, 
in the presence of Governor McClellan and many dis- 
tinguished guests. The monument was completed, and 
the unveiling ceremonies, which exceeded in extent and 
pageantry that of any other public occasion hitherto held 
in the State, took place on the 13th of IsTovember, 1884, 
in the presence of Governor Abbett and a great concourse 
of public oflicials, civil and military organizations, and 
invited guests.* 

HIS SOCIAL RELATIONS, MARRIAGE AND DEATH. 

Although his long and busy life was crowded with 
great public cares, he did not forget the minor public 
duties nor the obligations of social life. He was one of 
the original members of the lodge of Odd Fellows of his 
town and always retained an interest in its welfare ; in 
hisjearlier years he took an active part in its atiairs, filling 
the different official positions and representing it in the 
State Grand Lodge. lie was also a member of the Ma- 
sonic lodge of his town. In both of these organizations 
he remained an honored member up to the time of his 
death. He was for many 3'ears a member of the Union 
Fire Company of Trenton, and of the Fire Department of 
Freehold, aiding both with his counsels and his purse. 
He was also a member of the Commandery of the State 
of Pennsylvania of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion 
of the United States ; a member of the Tammany Society 
of ISTew York City, and an honorary member of the 
Society of the Cincinnati of the State of ISTew Jersey. In 
1881 he united with the Presbyterian Church of Freehold, 
on confession of faith, and afterward remained an accept- 
able member and communicant of that church. In 1843 
he was married to Maria M., eldest daughter of Samuel 
R. Gummere, Clerk in Chancery of JS'ew Jersey, who 
survives him, with two sons, Charles and Frederick, both 
practicing lawyers of some years' standing at the Bar of 



* See Memorial of Committee of Arrangements, 1885. 



JOEL PARKER. 37 

Monmouth County, and a daughter, Bessie, unmarried. 
On Saturday, the 31st day of December, 1887, after hold- 
ing a special session of the Burlington County Courts, he 
went to Philadelphia, and feeling unwell he called at the 
house of a friend, where, in a few minutes, he receiv^ed a 
stroke of paralysis. He died on the following Monday, 
shortly after midnight, surrounded by the immediate 
members of his family. He rallied sufficiently on Satur- 
day evening to recognize his wife, but afterward never 
regained consciousness. 

PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

His personal appearance was imposing. He was slightly 
over six feet high, with a massive frame admirably pro- 
portioned, a head well poised, manly and dignified in his 
bearing, easy and attractive in his manner ; in public free 
and self-possessed, easily approached by the humblest 
member of the community, but never condescending to 
unseemly familiarity. He was persistent in the pursuit 
of the object in which he was interested, and in support 
of the cause which he had espoused ; never domineering, 
but persuasive and conciliating ; avoiding personal antag- 
onisms he skilfull}' laid his course between contending 
factions and reached the goal while others were wrangling 
by the way. Conservative in all his views and sometimes 
considered so almost to a fault, he was always a safe lead- 
er in public affairs and reliable as a personal adviser. 



Joel Parker was, be^'ond dispute, the foremost man of 
his generation in his town and county, and in his State, 
in all those qualities that go to make a man useful to and 
beloved by his fellow-men. He enjoyed, as no other man 
of his day, the entire confidence of the people at large, 
without respect to party lines. In his public life, and in 
the administration of public affairs, he fully justified this 
regard, and no act of his cfin be adduced that is npt in 



38 MEMORIAL OF 

entire harmony with his professions of public duty. In 
his private life he was pure and above reproach. He had 
the imperfections common to humanit3^ but none that 
lessened him in the estimation of honorable men. lie 
Avas industrious in his private calling, and in the dis- 
charge of his puldic duties. He labored hard during the 
whole of his long life, rising early and sitting up late. 
Few men of his day, professional or other, worked more 
hours or endured more fatigue than he, and to this fact, 
as much as to the qualities of his head and heart, is his 
success in life to be largely attributed. He was not 
wealthy, l)ut he always gave liberally according to his 
means to public enterprises and public and private chari- 
ties. Of a sympathetic nature, his heart and his purse 
were ever open to relieve the distresses of the deserving 
poor, and it may truly be said of him that he never turned 
any empty away. He filled a large place in the attections 
of the people, who recognized him as their friend, and in 
the aflfairs of the public, and in this regard he will have 
no successor in this generation. He had fully rounded 
out his life, and the messenger of death found him at his 
post, at work almost to the last moment of his existence. 
He was not a brilliant man, as the world reckons it, but 
he was a great man, broad, liberal, conscientious, faithful 
and true, and so he will be rated on the pages of history 
in the generations to come. 

" Strong, 'mid the perils that beset his time, 
Strong, in the chair of State he honored long, 
Strong, in devotion to his home and friends, 
AVherever fortune found or placed him, strong. 

" Kind, with a kindness words cannot express. 
Kind, with a sweetness born of noble mind, 
Kind, let the tear-drop pathos started, speak ; 
To youth and age, to poor and sorrowing, kind. 

" Great, in the virtues that adorned his life, 
Great, in the annals of his native State, 
Great, in his feai-less championship of right, 
In every trust and station, truly great."* 

* Frank P. McDcripott, Freehold, iu the M'onmovih Democrat, Jan. 12, 1588. 



JOEL PARKER. 39 

When he died his fellow citizens throughout the State 
— all ranks and conditions of men — alike pressed forward 
to lay their tribute of affection and regard upon his bier. 
The Governor issued a proclamation reciting the eminent 
services he had rendered the State, and caused public 
honors to be paid to his memory ; the business of the 
courts was suspended while eulogies were pronounced 
and resolutions of respect and condolence were placed 
upon their records ; organizations, public and social, vied 
with each other in manifestations of friendship and es- 
teem, and the press united in one common expression of 
high appreciation of his life and public services. 

And so we committed his body to the dust, and com- 
mended his soul to God who o;ave it. 



ADDENDA. 



Since the publication of the foregoing sketch attention 
has been called to the address delivered by Governor Par- 
ker on the 6th of March, 1873, on the occasion of the 
presentation to the State of the old Battle Flags of the 
jS'ew Jersey Regiments. It is here presented, copied from 
the report in the Trenton True American of the day follow- 
ing its delivery, to further illustrate the views sustained 
by him on the questions involved in the war : 

SPEECH ON THE PRESENTATION OF THE OLD BATTLE-FLAGS. 

Veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic : — The eloquent orator* who 
has just addressed you related the circumstances under which these 
flags were sent to this State, and it may be well to further notice the 
fact. 

At the close of the war I had the honor to occupy the Executive 
Chair of the State of New Jersey, and hearing that these flags, which 
had been borne through so many hard-fought battles, were about 
being put in charge of the United States authorities, and thinking that 
they might be deposited at the Capitol, where few Jersey men would 
have opportunity to see them, I thought it proper to request that these 
New Jersey memorials of the battle fields might be given into the cus- 
tody of the State. This request, so reasonable, was readily complied 
with, and the flags, with others, were placed in the charge of the Quar- 
termaster General of the State. About two years since the Legislature 
of the State passed a resolution requiring that they should be kept in 
the State Capitol ; but since that time, in consequence of the unsettled 
condition of the building, there has been no suitable place to keep 
them. A room has now, however, been prepared, in which they will 
in future be kept. 

I receive from you these colors, and, in conformity with the ex- 
pressed wish of the Legislature, will deposit them in the Capitol, 
there to remain in the custody of the State. 

In looking upon these torn and discolored flags, the question natu- 
rally arises, why are they deemed so precious ? Why have they been 
made the subject of official correspondence between the National and 

* John Y. Foster, Esq., of Newark. 



42 MEMORIAL OF 

State governments ? Why has theii- preservution been provided foi- 
by legislative action ? Why have they been brought here to-day in 
the hands of veterans of the Grand Army of the Eepublic, in the pres- 
ence of a vast concourse of citizens, and accompanied by a grand mili- 
tary escort? Is it because the material of which they are made is rare 
and costly ? The bullet scarred stafts and stained shreds of silk, in 
themselves of little intrinsic worth, are all that remain. Is it because 
of any practical use to which they might hereafter be put in active 
service ? They are so frail that if unfolded the gentlest breeze would 
scatter their fragments. AVhat then gives them a priceless value ? It 
is because of the memories and associations that cluster around thorn. 
To you, soldiers of the late war, they recall the scenes through Avhich 
you passed. They remind you of the time, when in their brightness 
and beauty, you received them from the State, and of the voms you 
then solemnly made to guard and protect them, and to bring them 
back, not in dishonor, but with victory emblazoned on every fold. 
Through years of varied fortune they were your constant companions. 
To-day they speak to you of the joys and friendships of camp life, of 
the wearisome march, the shock of battle, the charge and the deadly 
assault. Where danger most threatened you advanced your stand- 
ards and bore them proudly aloft; where shot and shell fell thickest, 
you rallied around them ; they guided you over the field of carnage, 
and on them the eyes of your fallen comrades instinctively turned 
their dying gaze as you hurried past. AVho can wonder, then, that to 
you these flags are of peculiar interest ? But chiefly are they precious 
to you, and to all of us, because they are the emblems of our nation- 
ality — the symbols of governmental power. Mute though they be, 
they speak to us in language more forcible than human utterance. 
Each rent and shred of these tattered banners has a voice which to- 
day says to us, and to all men, " although it cost privation and suffer- 
ing, exposure and even death itself, come what may, this government 
must be maintained in its integrity, whether its assailants come from 
without or within ; though millions of lives and billions of treasure be 
the sacrifice, the Union shall be preserved." 

Soldiers of New Jei'sey, your deeds of noble daring are still fresh in 
memory. These banners borne by you, who here represent the rem- 
nant of the eighty thousand men whom New Jer.sey sent to the field, 
testify that you, and such as you, in the hour of the country's peril, 
left the endearments and comforts of home and bared your bosoms to 
the storm of battle, that our free institutions might be maintained and 
tlie nation might live. 

In the name of the people, I thank you, and, through you, your 
absent comrades, for the imperishable honor reflected on the State by 
your patriotism and valor in that dark hour. 

In closing these interesting ceremonies we must not forget those 
who, with high hope and patriotic impulse, went forth with you but 



JOEL PARKER. 43 

did not return ; those who for a time with you followed these flags, 
but fell by your side, sacrificing their lives for their country. A 
grateful people will ever cherish their memory. 

In the name of the State of New Jersey, I now take these memorials 
of valiant deeds, and Avill deposit them in the place set apart for their 
reception, where, in accordance with the resolutions of the Legisla- 
ture, they will be tenderly cared for, and where they will remain the 
objects of gratitude and reverence of future generations. 



It should have been mentioned in the biography of Governor Par- 
ker that the Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on 
him by the Trustees of Rutgers College, June 18, 1872. 



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